The Issue: The legislature's
task force on juvenile justice ­ the Joint Legislative Juvenile Justice Commission
("JJC") ­ is considering recommendations for reform of Louisiana's
juvenile justice system.The bulk of the recommendations of the JJC's ad hoc advisory
board and Annie E. Casey Foundation have largely been agreed to be all of
the parties, including the need for a comprehensive strategy to reduce delinquency
and juvenile crime, the need to utilize a system of graduated sanctions and
the increased availability of community based alternatives.The only question facing the state is
how we get to a reformed system (is it something that needs to be acted upon
quickly or should we take the 2 yeas or so suggested by DOC Secretary Richard
Stalder) and what a reformed system looks like (are the youth and resources
in an agency that focuses on treatment and rehabilitation, with streamlined
services and funding, or does the current structure work and simply need more
resources).A majority of the
system's stakeholders represented in the ad hoc advisory board agree on the
need for a systemic overhaul in the way Louisiana operates its juvenile justice
system.

The Louisiana District Attorney's Association ("LDAA"),
the Sheriff's Association and the La. Commission on Law Enforcement have,
however, noted their opposition to key elements of the reform initiative.While professing to support the reform
work, the opposition's targets, if successful, would doom any real opportunity
for reform.The focus of the
LDAA's opposition seems to be protecting the current administration's juvenile
justice policies and practices, even while the system's spokesperson, Sec.
Stalder, did not formally object to any of the recommendations except closing a large juvenile facility.

The LDAA has assumed the lead by filing a written opposition.[1]The Sheriff's merely orally noted their
agreement with the LDAA's position.Among other recommendations, the LDAA opposes the recommendations of
the ad hoc advisory board that call for the removal of youth and funding for
youth corrections from the adult corrections department (La. Dept. of Public
Safety & Corrections) and the establishment of a single statewide agency
responsible for all at-risk and mentally ill youth.Finally, the LDAA opposes the Casey foundation's recommendation
that the state close a single youth prison, move 350 non-violent incarcerated
youth safely into community programs and use the over $10 million in savings
to develop more alternatives to incarceration.

The LDAA claims to support the reform initiative, yet argues
that there is a "juvenile justice system" in La. that has only been
ineffective to the extent that there have not been enough resources provided
to the DOC. They argue that we
do not need "dramatic gestures" such as closing a facility or removing
youth from adult corrections.In
an election year, with the Gov.'s office noting the need to reduce the this
year's budget by almost $100 million and warning everyone to expect more cuts
in next year's budget, the LDAA argues that the DOC merely needs more money
to develop community programs to fix the system.

Such arguments spell the death knell for reform, for there
simply is no money for new programs.In addition, after 12 years of operating such programs, running dangerous
juvenile prisons and cutting the budget for community based programs to fund
prison bed expansion, the current DOC administration has proven incapable
of effectively utilizing scarce tax dollars.The JJC and legislature must exercise
leadership and discount the opposition's scare tactics, and adopt the ad hoc
advisory board and Casey recommendations in full.

The
Current "System" is Ineffective and a Waste of Tax Dollars

--Since 1995, when Human Rights
Watch found that guards in Louisiana's juvenile prisons physically abused
youth and that the facilities were modeled after adult prisons, Louisiana's
juvenile justice system has stood out as one of the nation's worst.In spite of the current administration's
public comments to the contrary, Louisiana's facilities remain violent and
dangerous for youth, with an average of 500 injuries a month to youth due
to violence.

--Common sense tells us what the
statistics on recidivism indicate: Louisiana juvenile system is ineffective,
with over 70% of youth released from secure care in 1994 committing another
crime, 1815 of those as adults.Simply
put, by placing delinquent youth in violent facilities that do little to treat
and rehabilitate, our current juvenile system creates less public safety,
not more.

--Not only is our current juvenile
justice system ineffective, it is expensive.It costs $157 a day - $57,305 a year - to incarcerate a delinquent
juvenile in DOC's juvenile prisons.Overall, Louisiana spends $89 million a year on secure care,
more than any other state expenditure for youth.In contrast, La. spends $5,804 annually per pupil in our schools.

--Over 75% of the youth incarcerated
in La.'s youth prisons are locked up for non-violent offenses.States with true juvenile justice systems, with graduated sanctions
and sufficient alternative programs, place non-violent youth in community
programs that are far less expensive and far more effective.For example, the Casey Foundation estimates that placing only 350 non-violent
youth in programs like day treatment ($60 a day) and trackers ($15 a day)
can save the state between $10-18 million ­ if we close a facility.

The bottom line is that Louisiana's juvenile justice system is
in a state of crisis, with hundreds of young men and women suffering needlessly
and receiving ineffective "treatment" in adult-like prisons.We cannot afford our current ineffective,
inhumane system and that any reform effort is doomed without realizing some
savings from the current system.

The
Legislature's Juvenile Justice Commission is Our Best Opportunity to Reform
our Broken System

--Formed at the behest of the Chief
Justice in 2001, the JJC began with wide support and a mandate for reform.The recommendations of the ad hoc advisory board were drafted with
all of the system's principals at the table, including the sheriffs, the District
Attorneys and the Department of Corrections.The LDAA's minority report represents the views of a small part of
the advisory board, with advocates, juvenile judges and the vast majority
of the system's stakeholders approving of all of recommendations.

--The JJC contracted with the Annie
E. Casey Foundation's Strategic Consulting Group, a project of the nation's
premier youth advocacy foundation that applies business models to juvenile
justice systems.The Casey Foundation
brings decades of research and technical assistance and expertise to the table.Therefore the JJC is presented with recommendations that are supported
by both the majority of principals in the juvenile justice system and decades
of research and common sense.

--The only opposition to the recommendations
comes from the District Attorney's Association, the Sheriff's Association
and the La. Commission of Law Enforcement.Even though all groups participated in
the ad hoc advisory board process, these groups object to critical aspects
of the reform recommendations.Each
group claims to support reform, but neither wants to concede any "turf"
and is fighting to protect the status quo.

--Closing a facility is absolutely
necessary if we are to gain any resources for the system reform that is so
desperately needed.While Secretary
Stalder "announced" that he is reducing the juvenile prison capacity
by 310, he refuses to maximize the potential fiscal savings by closing a facility.There is no question that if a facility is targeted for closure,
Tallulah is the most likely to close due to the fact that we merely rent rather
than own the facility.What special
interests and turf is Secretary Stalder protecting by keeping Tallulah open?

--Removing all of the youth and
money from the three agencies that deal with at risk youth ­ DSS, DHH and
DOC ­ will reduce bureaucracy by reducing the management and supervisory capacity
from the 3 agencies to 1 single agency and improve coordination and communication
that is now non-existent between the agencies.In addition, and critically, it will remove
children from the adult-penal model permeating the DOC.If we are to have any hope of truly treating
and rehabilitating our delinquent youth, it will not be by subjecting them
to harsh adult prison-like conditions.

Conclusion:

Urge members of the JJC to vote to acknowledge both the urgent need
for reform and the LDAA's critical role in the effort.Rather than allow the LDAA and the minority to inhibit the state's
efforts, encourage the JJC to vote to adopt the ad hoc advisory board's
recommendations in full and work with
our partners in law enforcement as we proceed with real reform this legislative
session.

[1] The LCLE, while
filing an opposition, only opposes the JJC's recommendation that federal
funding for juvenile justice programs, which currently are controlled by
the LCLE, be placed with other juvenile justice funding and be appropriated
based on performance and outcome based indicators.